batavia

Press Release:

Join the Holland Land Office Museum for another Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre. The event will be on Saturday, March 23rd from 6-8 pm at the Batavia Country Club, located at 7909 Byron Rd. in Batavia. Enjoy a great meal from The Lodge at the Country Club and a wonderful show by WNY Improv. 

The mystery is "Spirits and Suspects, a Roaring 20’s Murder Mystery." Prohibition may be in full swing but for the Kingpin of Genesee County, the booze business is booming! What could possibly go wrong? Put your glad rags on and join the fun as mobsters, molls, and even a medium, face the eclipse... 

Tickets are $75 per person. There is a choice of three entrée options including stuffed chicken with beef, crab-stuffed fish, or pasta primavera. Please make your choice when you purchase your ticket. Your ticket includes your meal and dessert. A cash bar will be available. Links to buy tickets online are available at the museum’s website www.hollandlandoffice.com.

Press Release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) hosted his annual Valentines for Veterans program. Hawley teamed up with Jackson Primary and Robert Morris School to deliver over 150 handmade valentines from students to the residents at The New York State Veterans Home at Batavia. 

During this time, Hawley spoke to students about the importance of veterans and their service to our nation. Hawley hopes this event will raise awareness of veterans' issues and show the community’s appreciation for their service and sacrifice for our country.

“As a veteran myself, I understand the sacrifices our veterans have made to keep our country free,” said Hawley. “This is why every year I put on our Valentines for Veterans program to get our community involved in supporting our veterans. I’m thankful to the faculty and students at Jackson Primary and Robert Morris School for partnering with us this year and I hope to continue to put this event on for years to come.”

Edwin Allen and his family were known across the United States as the “Flying Allens” and became some of the foremost aerial balloon daredevils throughout the first half of the 20th century. The Allens made their home in Batavia and always came back to Genesee County no matter how far-flung their escapades took them. 

Four generations of the Allen family rode in balloons dating all the way back to the Civil War. 

The death-defying stunts of the Allen family did not come without their price, as many of the family members suffered serious injuries or worse while performing their feats. Three of the Allen children, Gloria, Joseph, and Arlene, suffered severe injuries and died as a result of accidents involving the performances. Gloria died in 1939 after a very hard landing caused a severe brain injury. Arlene was killed after parachuting into power lines in 1946. Edwin’s nephew, Warren Jr., also was killed during a jump in 1946 when he fell 75 feet from his basket. 

Edwin Allen survived his thrilling career and passed away at his home in 1984. 

Press Release:

Genesee Amateur Hockey Association (GAHA) invites children to the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena on Evans Street on Saturday, Feb. 24 for a Try Hockey For Free clinic as part of Hockey Week Across America. 

 Starting at 10:40 a.m. to Noon local youth, ages 4 to 9, are encouraged to experience ice hockey for the first time and learn the basic skills in a fun, safe environment.

“We look forward to welcoming families to David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena to try our great sport of ice hockey for free,” said Sharon Gray, Event Coordinator. “Our goal is for these families to enjoy watching their kids learn new skills with big smiles on their faces.” 

USA Hockey’s Try Hockey program, with the support of the National Hockey League and NHL member clubs, among others, is designed to provide youth hockey associations with a national platform for introducing children to the sport, free of charge.

All your youngster needs is a helmet (bike or sports) and winter gloves. Skates are available at the Rink free of charge (due to the generous offering of the David McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena). The GAHA organization does have some used hockey helmets available for the event as well as a few hockey sticks.

Players in attendance will be given a free hockey jersey to take home. To register for this Try Hockey For Free event, please visit www.TryHockeyForFree.com (Use zip code 14020).

For more information, please contact Sharon at svgray@rochester.rr.com or 585-344-2248 (Coordinator for Try Hockey For Free).

Submitted photos

When Samuel Savarino said he was closing his Savarino Companies and work halted at the Downtown Batavia Ellicott Station apartment complex in the summer of 2023, it seemed a given that the Buffalo-based developer was done with the project.

However, Savarino recently indicated, in responses to questions from The Batavian, that such a conclusion may have been premature. Work is being performed on the Ellicott Street property by “subcontractors of Savarino Companies LLC,” Savarino said Thursday. 

Contractor vehicles could clearly be seen at the site throughout the past several days, along with crews that apparently installed exterior siding and completed other construction tasks. 

The work is to both button up the property’s exterior to protect it from the wintry elements, and to further proceed with project construction, Savarino said.

He made an abrupt announcement in August 2023 that his company would be closing after a sticky financial situation involving the state Dormitory Authority and claims that not being paid for completed work created what Savarino said at the time was enough of a financial constraint, compounded by pandemic shutdowns, to keep some of his other projects afloat. 

After he backed off from Ellicott Station, city, county and state officials weighed in on the situation, proffering optimism that another developer would eventually step in and continue on. 

When asked if he had walked away completely from the project and if there was any possibility that he would work with another developer here, Savarino simply replied “No and Yes” to those two questions in that order. He did not wish to speak by phone and offered to answer questions by email. 

Savarino said that he’s been in communication with the city, Genesee County Economic Development Center, and the state Office of Homes and Community Renewal, with no elaboration or specifics as to when. City Manager Rachael Tabelski said on Thursday that she has “not had any communication on Ellicott Station from Savarino or the state.”

Savarino declined to answer further questions about the liens filed against his company by a handful of contractors that had already invested labor and materials into the project or whether he had any plans to file any type of financial protection, namely bankruptcy. 

When asked if he had any hindsight about what happened with the Ellicott project and if issues were about more than the Dormitory Authority, he did not reply. 

The project at 50-56 Ellicott St. became embroiled in a wrangle with city and county officials about how an initial market rate-turned-affordable workforce housing apartment complex became an unwelcome low to very low-income housing complex. 

Savarino qualified for state housing tax credits with a low-income strategy, but city and county leaders wanted to see the project accommodate higher salaried tenants to bring in more wealth and bump up the local economy and spending for what was being touted as “a pathway to prosperity.”

Much of it fell apart when GCEDC gained access to tenant demographics and discovered that Savarino was using a lottery method to select tenants and that income levels were much lower than anticipated. However, Savarino had also missed two October 2023 payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) installments of $25,312.26 for Ellicott Station and $11,743.90 for the adjacent property that was to be a brewery/restaurant, according to documents provided to The Batavian.

By the time that letter from Harris Beach was sent to Ellicott Station LLC on Jan. 3, 2024, GCEDC was demanding immediate payment of $833,021.26 as part of “its right to capture agency benefits,” plus late payments and interest.

The recapture schedule includes $23,868.23 for a PILOT payment, $637,500 in sales tax exempt savings for 2023, and $170,209 mortgage recording tax exemption savings for 2021, for a total of $831,577.23 in October 2023 for Ellicott Station LLC, plus a PILOT of $10,964.29 for the adjacent Ellicott Street property, $212,500 in sales tax exemption savings in 2023 and $57,274.50 in mortgage recording tax exemption savings in 2021, for a total $280,738.79 in October 2023. 

The Batavian asked Savarino if he is planning to pay the “clawback” request of more than $1.1 million and about his response to the GCEDC. 

“Ellicott Station LLC has responded to the GCEDC. No further comment at this time,” he said. 

In a letter dated Dec. 1, 2023, Savarino contested the agency’s claims of recapture as being “without merit” since Ellicott Station LLC only received notices of default in July and August, and “all of the information request in the July notice, however, was provided by July 31, 2023, as acknowledged in the August notice,” Savarino said. 

He also disputed the discrepancy of income requirements since “numerous emails between you and myself or Oxford Consulting reflect your and other agency officials’ knowledge and agreement that the 55 units of housing would be limited to occupants with income below 60 percent of the area median income.”

“There is simply no basis to contend that the company in any way misled the agency, which is the only claimed cause for termination of the agreements,” he said. “We respectfully request that the agency reconsider the termination of the agreements and revoke its demand for recapture of benefits thereunder.”

A response from GCEDC to Savarino's letter was unavailable prior to publication.

Meanwhile, Steve Hyde, CEO of the economic agency, has given the community a whiff of optimism by stating that he believes the project will end up better in the end. There’s just no telling when and by whom that ending will happen. 

To read all about Ellicott Station, go HERE

Batavia's Alpine Ski Team took to the slopes for its last evening race of the season this week at Swain Resort on Wheel's Run.

Batavia's top finisher in the slalom was Ben Stone in 11th place.

"Hard and slippery conditions tested the skier's fundamentals and how well their skis were sharpened," said Coach Matt Holman.

Sections begin in the coming week.

Friday and Saturday evenings, and Sunday afternoon, theater goers can take a special Valentine's moment to explore along with Batavia Players the nuances of love.

The play "Love Lines" was written by Patrick D. Burk, who is also the director of the production, and Vincent M. Gauteri.

The production is described as "a celebration of love and how people fall in love currently or in the past; there are special moments from real people and real-life situations."

Show times are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and  2 p.m. on Sunday, at the Main St. 56 Theater in Batavia City Centre.

For more information or tickets, visit bataviaplayers.org.

Submitted photos.

One injury is reported on a rollover accident in the area of 4016 Pearl Street Road, Batavia.

Two vehicles are involved.

The person injured is reportedly out of the vehicle.

Town of Batavia Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

The accident is in the area of Treadeasy Avenue.

UPDATE 11:20 a.m.: One vehicle is leaking gas the other is leaking multiple fluids.

UPDATE 11:55 a.m.: Road is reopened. Town assignment back in service.

After reviewing the last of the city departments — the water fund’s $6.57 million and wastewater's $4.38 million budgets — City Council was done with the process and ready to move on Wednesday evening.

While some council members were good with all of it and asked for no modifications — Kathy Briggs, Al McGinnis, David Twichell, Paul Viele, Rich Richmond, Eugene Jankowski Jr. — others accepted it for now — “We need to take a hard look at this next year,” Councilman Derek Geib said.

“There are some tough decisions that we all have to make. I’m sure everyone did their due diligence,” Richmond said. “We went line by line. Questions were asked and explained in good detail. Budgets were reasonable and sound. I’m good with it.”

Twichell added that he thought City Manager Rachael Tabelski did “an excellent job” at negotiating union contracts, and she, in turn, thanked the council for its support. “We have top-notch employees,” she said. 

Two standalones — Council members Tammy Schmidt and Bob Bialkowski — wanted to see no tax increases but didn’t see where else to go by extending budget sessions.

Bialkowski reiterated some of his talking points during these last few weeks of budget meetings, namely that he’d like to see a flat tax levy. He proposed cutting $110,000 out of the Bureau of Maintenance budget’s planned parking lot resurfacing project and said that he expects “our employee to be top notch,” commending the public works and maintenance staff for doing great work. 

Tabelski clarified that cutting that money from the BOM budget “just reduces the budget by $110,000” and would not affect the levy since it is coming from reserves. 

“You would have to identify something in the budget,” she said. 

Bialkowski also questioned the use of video lottery terminal money for police radios, which was mentioned during the police budget discussion. He thought VLT money was not going to be spent in this budget due to the uncertainty of that type of revenue coming from Batavia Downs Gaming. 

Tabelski said that council previously approved radio purchases in December using VLT money from 2023; it’s not being used for the 2025 budget, she said.

To recap the budget: 

• It’s a proposed $37 million total, with a levy of $6.7 million which calls for a two-cent increase per $1,000 assessed property value, or $2 extra for a home assessed at $100,000.
• It would be a proposed property tax rate of $8.96 per $1,000 assessed value. 
• The levy is an increase of $110,000 from the current budget, an exact amount of what Bialkowski proposed cutting from the BOM parking lot project; however, again — Tabelski said it would not make a difference to the levy because the paving project is being paid for with reserves.
• There is also a proposed 19-cent per 1,000 gallons of water increase, or $6.46 per 1,000, along with increases of $2 per quarter for the water meter and $6 per quarter for the capital infrastructure fund. 
• All tallied, with an estimated $3.80 more per quarter for the water itself, plus the meter and capital fund increases, that would be about $47 more per year for a family of four, Tabelski said. 
• The total yearly increase is dependent, of course, on how much water a household consumes. There are no increases to the sewer fees.
• A proposed stormwater tax that was discussed during budget sessions will not be part of the 2024-25 budget. Tabelski said that council members shared that their constituents were not in favor of it, and that they’d like to discuss it more in the future.
• There are no additional police officers in the budget, per a discussion during the police department portion of council talks. Chief Shawn Heubusch had reviewed a state report that recommended hiring five more patrol officers. 

The next City Council meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall. The group is expected to set a public hearing about the budget for Feb. 26, with a final vote to adopt it on March 11. 

While the pace of work at Ellicott Station has slowed to a crawl since August, when Sam Savarino announced he was closing his development company, there continues to be the occasional contractor on the site doing some work.

On Wednesday, there was a two-man crew putting more siding on the front of the apartment building under construction.

There has yet to be an announcement from local officials or Savarino about the future of the project.  There is reportedly a search underway to find a new contractor to complete the project, which is potentially hampered by a very low-income requirement for renters from the Office of NYS Homes and Community Renewal, but officials have yet to reveal any progress on that front.

For previous coverage of Ellicott Station, click here.

Batavia PD is seeking the public's assistance in identifying a person of interest in relation to a theft investigation.

The police did not release details on the alleged crime -- its location or what may have been stolen. The police did not say whether the photo above directly corresponds to the incident under investigation.

Anybody with information that could help police identify the person in the photo are asked to contact Sgt. Christopher Lindsey at 585-345-6365.

The police department also accepts tips through an online form.

Music has been a big part of Melzie Case's life since she was four years old when she first started piano lessons at Roxy's Music Store.

Along the way, she's had teachers and mentors to guide her, and one of the most important was Roxie Choate, the former president of the Genesee Symphony Orchestra, herself a retired teacher, who died in October.

Case, who first served on the GSO board as a high school student, has stepped in to lead the GSO.

"Roxie was a passionate and unabashedly determined leader," Case said. "Under her guidance, I learned how to positively steer the GSO Board and how to be a leader in music ministry. We connected and bonded over music, from appreciating classical music to playing piano and organ duets together, and forged a seemingly unlikely friendship through our love for music in the community. Her influence continues to serve me well on a daily basis."

In addition to working together on the GSO board for a number of years, Choate and Case became well acquainted with one another musically at the Batavia First Presbyterian Church, where Coate was an organist, and Case played piano.

Coate had been a music teacher in Oakfield-Alabama. After graduating from Batavia High School, she earned a degree in music education from Buffalo State University.  The 30-year-old Case is now a music teacher at Batavia Middle School.

Her musical journey has prepared her well for both roles.  Starting with those piano lessons at Roxy's Music, she participated in musical theater as a child, was a member of the chorus in middle school and high school, and along the way, she became a percussionist to go along with singing, playing the piano, and organ. She first joined the GSO as a percussionist while still a teen, and then Choate asked her to be a student rep on the GSO board.  Following a break for college, Case rejoined the orchestra and the board as she wrapped up her education in 2016.

"I like GSO because you meet so many people in the community, people from all ages and backgrounds. That is what really drew me in," Case said. 

The orchestra, she said, is comprised of “local folks, people from surrounding counties, music teachers and people with jobs outside of music.  It’s such a wonderful group of people. We have a wonderful time rehearsing together and putting on concerts together.”

Obviously, Case is passionate about music.  She thinks music helps bring people together.

"Music has a unique way of connecting people like nothing else. Music is healing, exciting, joyful, engaging," Case said. "I see every day the impact that music has on people of all ages and how it is a creative outlet in so many ways. Music is a part of nearly every moment of my day, whether I’m singing, playing, teaching, or listening."

One reason GSO has thrived in recent years is the leadership of music director and conductor S. Shade Zajac, Case said.

“I enjoy working with Shade," Case said. "The whole board does. We appreciate that he comes to board meetings when he can or gets on a call with us and that he brainstorms with us about concerts. We really have a great time working with him. He has a great vision when it comes time to select repertoire. The music he picks pushes us all as musicians, and we feel grateful to have him at the helm.”

As president of the board, Case, of course, has a role in ensuring the GSO continues to build on its success, and she that can happen through collaboration with other arts groups in the community and making connections with young people who are interested in music.

Entertaining programs, such as the one Zajac has programmed for Saturday at GCC, will also help garner growing support for the orchestra.

"The program is a blend of emotions," Case said. "There are some familiar pieces and some new ones that people will enjoy."

One of the new pieces is a composition by Paul McCartney.  Yes, the former Beatle writes more than pop songs.  He has composed a number of classical pieces, including Spiral, which the GSO will perform at the concert.

"I'm a huge Beatles fan, so I'm excited to play one of Paul McCartney's lesser-known works," Case said.

The rest of the program is comprised of pieces by other English composers, as Vaughn-Williams and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

The anchor piece of the program is Elgar's “Enigma Variations.” 

"It's one of my favorite pieces in the entire literature," Zajac told The Batavian at the start of the season. "It's a very special piece. I've conducted only one movement from it (previously). It's a remarkable piece of music. Every note and every bar sounds like English music, which is incredible because you can trace every note to some other composer. You can hear the influences of Beethoven and Bach and Wagner. But somehow, he makes it all sound like English music."

Choate is, as they say in show business, a tough act to follow, Case acknowledged.  She led the board. She often handled concert publicity. She was also the personnel manager.

"Roxie did so much.  We find things all the time we didn’t even know about," Case said. "As a board, we say all the time, 'Oh, Roxie did that, and she did this, and she did that.' She was a huge advocate for GSO and for music education.”

The GSO, with what it has achieved and how it can yet grow, will carry on because of a lot of people over the past eight decades, but Choate certainly contributed to GSO's success.

"I have so much pride in GSO," Case said. "We have a professional orchestra right here in Batavia. We can offer to our community that experience. You can go to Buffalo and Rochester and hear those orchestras, or you can stay right here in Batavia and hear a professional orchestra."

The GSO concert on Saturday at GCC begins at 7 p.m.  Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors, and students with an ID can get in for free.

Photos by Howard Owens.

Sammy DiSalvo has been no wallflower when it comes to speaking his mind about city matters, and the Batavia resident wants to be a conduit for anyone with concerns about the current City Council budget before a final vote later this month.

DiSalvo wants to invite any interested city residents to discuss their concerns during a meeting this weekend. It’s at 10 a.m. Saturday at Holland Land Office Museum, 131 W. Main St., Batavia.

I reached out to some of my connections that I had around Batavia and then people that I've just known for awhile in Batavia, about what the council is proposing, specifically for the water and stormwater tax. And just general unhappiness about it, and then just about some random other things that have been proposed," DiSalvo said to The Batavian. "And some people want to get together and talk in a more unified way to present something to council, as opposed to a bunch of people just saying unified things that have mixed messages. And some of them have said that they talked to their council members about various aspects of either the water one or just other things proposed in the budget. So it's really going to be kind of an open floor discussion to bring together something in a unified front."

The idea is to have a discussion, gather citizen concerns, and then present those during the next council meeting, which is at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 at City Hall. 

DiSalvo has been personally prompted to get involved in the proposed $37 million 2024-25 budget as a new home owner who doesn’t want to see an increase in taxes, whether they be for property, water or a potentially new stormwater tax being proposed by city management.  

The budget as is includes a two-cent property tax increase per $1,000 assessed value and a 19-cent per 1,000 gallons of water increase per household. City Manager Rachael Tabelski has raised the possibility of tacking on

 a stormwater tax for every property owner, but no decision or definite amounts have been finalized.

“I don't think, given our city's relatively stable population, and just kind of how the economy is going right now, that taxing people more with a brand new tax that in the future is probably going to be increased, and also adds barriers for homebuyers to have to pay additional taxes when they buy a home, especially as a young homebuyer who just bought a home and knows the huge hurdle that we climb to do it,” he said. “And it's just another barrier. But then in general, in terms of their other stuff they want to do. I'm also concerned about the number of new positions they want to add. I think that they need to be added, but they need to be added over time, not all at once, because it's a huge strain on the budget, essentially.”

As one who has spoken his mind at prior council meetings and run for a council position, DiSalvo has no qualms with sharing his thoughts and opinions with city leaders. 

He believes there may be others wanting to express their varied thoughts as well, and everyone is invited to attend Saturday’s meeting so that perhaps a more “unified front” can be presented at council’s meeting. The meeting should last between 6o to 90 minutes, he said. 

The Batavian asked if DiSalvo had any wanderlust for another run at a council seat, and he had no definitive answer at this time, he said. He is working on his doctorate, and “I don’t really know what is going to come after that,” he said. 

“This is not me trying to do something like that,” he said. “Again, this is me now that I’m a homeowner having different concerns that definitely are at the forefront of my mind. And people, I think, because of my previous runs, probably trust me to be able to speak eloquently about this, and at least moderate Saturday’s conversation.”